Asset Ownership and Future Orientation of Youth and Their Parents: Evidence From Ghana

Abstract

Although future orientation influences a variety of desirable behaviors, few studies have examined the relationship between economic resources and future orientation. In this study, we investigated whether and how asset ownership influences future orientation. We analyzed survey data collected from 3,007 Ghanaian youth and their parents. We used factor analysis to determine the psychometric qualities of our instruments, and propensity score analysis to examine the relationship between asset ownership and future orientation. Results suggest that asset ownership influences future orientation of youth and their parents. However, the direction of the relationship depends on the type of asset. Ownership of household possessions, including televisions contributes to higher levels of future orientation, but livestock ownership has a negative effect on future orientation. We discuss implications for future research, as well as programs for youth and their families.

KEYWORDS:

• assets
• factor analysis
• future orientation
• Ghana
• household possessions
• livestock
• propensity score
• television
• well-being

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study is a product of YouthSave, created in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation. The MasterCard Foundation did not take part in the design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of data in this study or in the writing or submission of this manuscript. The authors thank the YouthSave research participants for their time and involvement in the project, headmasters and teachers in the project schools for allowing their institutions to be part of the research, and field interviewers at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana for their data collection support.